Conveyer for ice-cakes



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. E.- BERNA.. GONVEYBR FOR ICE CAKES.

No. 487,001. Patented Nov. 29, 1892.

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i l i WITNESSES (No Model.)

. Patented Nov. 29, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. BERNA, on PELHAM MANOR, NEW YORK.

CONVEYER FOR ICE-CAKES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 487,001, dated November 29, 1892. Application filed March 29, 1892. Serial No. 426,966. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. BERNA, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pelham Manor, in the county of \Vestchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveyers for Ice-Cakes, of which the following is a specification. V

This invention has reference to an improved conveyer for ice-cakes or other heavy articles of merchandise, by which the same can be quickly conveyed from the freezing or storage floor of the store-house to a loading platform or lower fioor in such a manner that the load is automatically discharged from the conveyor and the latter then automatically returned into its former position for receiving the next charge.

The invention consists of a conveyor for ice-cakes and other articles, which comprises a box open at the upper end and provided with a buffer and air-cushion at the lower opposite end, said box being retained in position for charging by a suitable catch and sus pended by a pivot-bail from a wire rope that is passed over a pulley and applied to the piston-rod of a hydraulic brake. To the pivot of the bail are applied guide-links having antifriction rollers, by which the box is guided in upright ways that terminate in enlarged portions at the lower ends, so as to permit the automatic tilting of the box and the discharging of the load. A guard-plate is guided on fixed rails in front of the open end of the box and connected by a pivot-rod to a fixed point, said pivot-rod being engaged by an enlargement of the wire rope, so that the guard-plate is automatically closed when the box descends and raised when the box is returned into position for receiving the next load.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevationrof my improved conveyor for ice-cakes and other merchandise. Fig. 2 is afront elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a side view of the conveyer-box, showing the same with its catch and guard-plate on a larger scale; and Fig. i is a front view of Fig. 3.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a conveyer-box, which is supported in inclined position for being loaded or charged, and which is provided with an open upper end and with a spring-cushioned buffer a and airchamber a at the lower end, the buffer being provided with a release-pin a that projects through a fixed bushing a attached to the lower end of the box and engages an inclined seator lug b of a yielding frame B, that is bolted at the upper end to the wall or other suitable support and cushioned at the lower end, back of an inclined seat or plate 6, by means of the coil-spring b, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3.

engage a catch 6 which is attached to one or both of the legs of the bail A, said catches being arrested by a transverse rod 12 that is at tached to the upright guideways E, by which the conveyer-box A is guided in upward and downward direction. The conveyor-box A is supported by a U-shaped bail A, which is loosely applied to pivots of the side walls of the conveyer-box A, said bail being connected by an eye at its upper end with a wire rope O, which is conducted over a sheave O and connected to the piston-rod D of a piston D, that is arranged in an upright cylinder D, and preferably made of cast-iron or other suitable material and provided with suitable packing-rings, so as to fit snugly into the cylinder D. The upper end of the cylinder D is preferably provided with a stuffing-box and connected below the stuffing-box with a bypass pipe D ,which extends laterally and then in downward direction and back to the lower end of the cylinder D, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. The by-pass pipe D is provided with a fills the space in the cylinder that is not taken up by the piston, and which liquid may be oil, glycerine, or any other non-congealable substance, is moved from one side of the piston to the other, so that the piston and its cylinder acts with the by-pass pipe and regulating-valve as a hydraulic brake for regulating the descending and ascending motion of .the conveyor-box. By means of the regulatingvalve (2 the speed of the conveyor-box is regulated during the ascent and descent of the same.

To the laterally-projecting pivots of the The front portion of the frame B serves to regulating-valve d, by which the liquid which ICO conveyer-box A are keyed U-shaped links e, that carry antifriction-rollers e at their outer ends, which are guided in fixed upright ways E of U-shaped cross-section, the lower ends of the ways E being provided with rectangular enlargements E, so that the links 6 can move from their vertical positiomwhich they assume in the ways E while the box is ascending and descending into an inclined position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, so as to produce the tilting of the conveyer-box A for discharging its load onto an inclined chute F, from which the ice or other load is conveyed to the storage-place or loading-platform. The ends of the pivots of the conveyer-box A are also provided with rollers 6 which are arranged at right angles to the rollers e, and which serve to guide the conveyer-box steadily in its up-and-down motion and prevent the wabbling of the same. To prevent the dropping of ice-cake or other heavy package of merchandise into the hatchway in which the conveyor is ascending and descending, a guard-plate G is arranged,which is guided on fixed inclined ways g, that are arranged in front of and and at both sides of the open end or mouth of the conveyer-box A. The upper end of the guard-plate G is connected by a proof-lock g with an oscillating arm G, that is pivoted at its opposite end toan upright beam or other suitable support, as shown in Fig. 1, said arm being engaged by a projection or roller 9 attached tothe wire rope C, so as to permit the droping of the guard-plate G and the closing of the space between the ways Eat the point where the conveyer-box is descending and the automatical lifting of the guard-plate by the action of the roller g on the wire rope O on the oscillating arm G of the guard-plate G.

The conveyer-box A when in normal position to receive its load is supported in close proximity to the freezing-tank or storagespace in the upper floor of the refrigerating building or store-house. The cake is removed with its freezing-cell from the freezing-tank by a suitable hoisting mechanism and the cell placed into inclined position with its mouth downward into a sprinklercase H, as indicated in Fig. 1, so as to be subjected to the action of water supplied by a sprinklerpipe it, so that the contact between cell and cake is loosened and cake released from the walls of the cell and dropped into the box A, which is located adjacent to the open end of the cell and at the same inclination therewith, as shown in Fig. 1.

When a barrel 'of flour, sugar, or other mer- I chandise is to be conveyed, the same is lifted by the hoisting mechanism and transmitted along a suitable guideway into the conveyorbox in a similar manner as the cake of ice.

As soon as the load strikes the springbufler a at the lower end of the conveyer-box, the yielding frame B is released by the weight of the load from the catch 19 on the bail A, so that the conveyor-box immediately descends with its load until it arrives at the lower end of the guideways, where the same is tilted into a downwardly-inclined position by the action of the enlarged guide portion E on the pivoted links 6, so that the load is delivered to and passed along the inclined chute F to the lower floor of the store-house or to the loading-platform. As soon as the load is discharged from the box the weight of the piston D automatically lifts the same and returns it into its inclined uppermost position until arrested by the transverse rod b The guard-plate is operated by the descending and ascending of the box in the manner before described. The weight of the cast-iron piston D is so proportioned that the box, with its load, overcomes the counterweight of the piston and raises the latter, while as soon as the load is discharged the weight of the piston overcomes the weight of the box and returns the same automatically into its former position. The fixed links 6 return the conveyerbox A into its former inclined position. By means of the by-pass pipe, the hydraulic-brake action of the liquid takes place during the descending and ascending motion of the box.

By the conveyer described the weightof the goods to be conveyed is made use of for lowering the same automatically and discharging them to a suitable store-room or loading platform, while the dilference in weight be tween the piston and box is made use of for returning the box to its normal position,ready for receiving the next load. In this manner a comparatively simple,reliable, and effective conveyer for ice-cakes and other heavyarticles'of merchandise is obtained, which can be readily put up in any refrigerating-building or warehouse and be operated bygravity without any other manipulation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with upright-guideways, of a conveyer-box A, a bail pivoted to said box and provided with a catch, a fixed stop attached to said ways, a yielding frame adapted to engage said catch, a releasing device on the box adapted to engage said yielding frame, and a hydraulic brake connected with the hail of the conveyer-box, the yielding frame releasing the catch on the bail by the weight of the load striking the releasing device, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of upright guideways, a conveyer-box open at one end and provided with a spring-buffer and release-pin at the other end, a bail pivoted to the said box, a catch on said bail,-ahydraulic brake attached to the bail, a fixed stop on the guideways, and a yielding and springcushioned frame adapted to engage the catch on the bail and having an inclined seat for the releasepin at its lower end, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of fixed uprightguideways having enlarged lower ends, a conveyorbox for the load, a bail pivoted to said box, and 4 guide-links keyed to the pivots of the conveyer-box, said guide-links having antifrictionrollers at their ends for guiding the box in the ways, said links serving to tilt the conveyerbox when they arrive at the lower ends of the ways, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of upright guideways, a conveyer-box for ice-cakes and other heavy loads guided in said ways, being open at one end' and provided with a spring-buffer and a release-pin at the opposite end, and a yielding spring-cushioned frame adapted to engage said release-pin.

5. The combination of upright guideways having enlarged lower ends, a conveyer-box 

